What happened: The Norwich Ice Rink’s troubled year began just before Valentine’s Day, when an ammonia leak forced its closure for a month and halted what had been the facility’s most profitable year since opening in 1995. On March 14 — one day after the rink reopened — the Ice Arena Authority accepted rink director Mia Sanca’s resignation. She later withdrew it, saying it was forced upon her. Two rink staffers resigned in April citing a lack of management, and then in May, a second equipment failure again shuttered the rink. That led to a new wave of controversy when the City Council in June voted 6-1 to give the facility $80,000 from the 2012-13 capital budget to cover the costs of a rental chiller and a new unit. Douglas Roberts Jr., a 44-year-old Old Saybrook resident, was hired in September among nine candidates as the rink’s new director of operations. He’ll make $60,000 a year through Aug. 30, 2017.

Moving forward: Since Roberts took over the job, the rink has returned to its regular flow, with local hockey and figure skating organizations booking ice time. The arena’s governing board has rebuffed critics who say the facility should be turned over to a private management firm and found new sources of revenue by managing the concession stand with rink staff and making changes to the pro shop’s operations.

Long-term plan: City Council President Pro Tempore and rink authority Chairman Peter Desaulniers said a troubled 2013 has not dampened the spirits of those charged with overseeing facility’s future. Officials are planning a grand reopening sometime in January, and have redesigned the pro shop to carry merchandise more in line with the activity levels of rink users. “We are anticipating some good growth in rink operations, and people are accepting our new management team,” Desaulniers said. “We are looking forward to a good year, but the biggest thing right now is to get the (permanent chiller) system we want in place as soon as we possibly can.”